The 12 Premier League matches with the most yellow and red cards

The Premier League has seen numerous exhilarating fixtures since its inception in 1992.

More often than not, a game starts with 22 players on the pitch and finishes with the same number. However, we have recently seen games finishing with a significant reduction in numbers – particularly since the introduction of VAR.

But what top-flight games have received the most cards in the Premier League’s history? We have delved into the stats to find out the league’s ugliest fixtures. For this list, we consider players to have been booked twice as receiving three cards (2 yellows, 1 red).

Chelsea’s recent win over Bournemouth recently made the headlines for the wrong reasons, with referee Anthony Taylor handing out a record 14 yellow cards – a new Premier League record. Only three matches can claim to have seen as many bookings – here is the full list:

13

West Ham 2-1 Arsenal (Oct 1999)

11 yellows, 2 reds

An all-London classic saw two sides quite literally come to blows back in October 1999, a time when Harry Redknapp was joined by Frank Lampard Sr in the West Ham dugout.

Four of the yellow cards were awarded to Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira and the Hammers’ Marc-Vivien Foe alone, with a total of 11 yellows brandished at Upton Park, where the Gunners failed to overcome a Paolo Di Canio brace – while outnumbering the Hammers’ cautions by 7 to 6.

Davor Suker’s 77th-minute strike offered the Gunners a glimmer of hope, but it wasn’t enough for Arsene Wenger’s side in a season when they would go on to finish second, 18 points behind Manchester United.

12

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal (Nov 1999)

11 yellows, 2 reds

Just five weeks after their action-packed defeat to West Ham, Arsenal were involved in another feisty affair against their even-bigger rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.

It was Spurs’ last league victory at White Hart Lane against the Gunners for 11 years, until April 2010.

The visitors picked up most of the cards, with Freddie Ljungberg seeing a straight red after taking issue with a challenge from Justin Edinburgh (he later aimed a V sign at referee David Elleray) and Martin Keown taking a walk after a second yellow in added time.

Steffen Iversen and Tim Sherwood scored two early goals for Spurs and Arsenal could only offer one of their own through Vieira.

11

Arsenal 1-2 Leeds (Aug 2001)

11 yellows, 2 reds

Arsenal fans, rest assured – it wasn’t anyone’s intention to feature three successive 2-1 defeats on this list of Premier League games with the most cards!

We’re talking about the Gunners again, but this time it was Leeds United who were the more aggressive of the two: Lee Bowyer and Danny Mills both saw red after picking up their second yellow cards in the final 15 minutes of play.

Leeds picked up 7 of the 11 yellows that day, and bizarrely ended the game not only as the victors, but with over half their team coming through unscathed.

Ian Harte put David O’Leary’s side ahead after 29 minutes with a cheeky quick free kick, but Arsenal equalised through Sylvain Wiltord three minutes later.

Then, in what was Arsenal’s first home game of the 2001/02 season, Mark Viduka’s 53rd-minute strike sent the away fans into bedlam and secured all three points for Leeds.

10

Everton 2-2 Newcastle (Sep 2003)

11 yellows, 2 reds

Everton’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at Goodison Park in September 2003 saw four second-half goals, three successfully converted penalties, a straight red and 11 yellow cards.

Newcastle had yet to register a Premier League win for the season, but took the lead after Gary Naysmith’s straight red card allowed Alan Shearer to net from 12 yards in the 58th minute.

However, the Magpies were already down to 10 men, as Laurent Robert had been shown a second yellow in the first half, and it took Everton just eight minutes to equalise through Tomasz Radzinski.

Shearer scored another penalty, but Duncan Ferguson’s spot kick salvaged a point for the hosts with three minutes to play.

9

Liverpool 3-1 Everton (Mar 2006)

11 yellows, 2 reds

Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Everton in March 2006 is not the only Merseyside derby to appear on this list. This was a particularly memorable one that featured a red card after only 18 minutes of play.

Steven Gerrard was the recipient of two quickfire yellows for kicking the ball away and a bad tackle on Kevin Kilbane from referee Phil Dowd at Anfield.

Six of Everton’s starting XI were also booked, while substitute Andy van der Meyde received a straight red card in the 73rd minute for an elbow just five minutes after coming on the pitch.

Luis Garcia doubled the Reds’ lead after a Phil Neville own goal. Tim Cahill pulled one back for the visitors, but Harry Kewell secured all three points for Liverpool with six minutes remaining.

8

Wolves 0-1 Aston Villa (Dec 2020)

11 yellows, 2 reds

It was a Midlands derby with a difference. Not only was it played in front of no fans, but Wolves’ 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Molineux also witnessed one of the highest card counts in Premier League history.

There was little action in the opening stages of the fixture until the final 10 minutes, which saw five yellow cards and a red. There would follow an additional red card and a penalty four minutes into added time.

Mike Dean awarded Villa a penalty in the 94th minute after Nelson Semedo brought John McGinn down in the box, and Anwar El Ghazi converted.

A minute later, Joao Moutinho received his second yellow and joined Douglas Luiz, who had done the same late on, in having an early shower to leave both sides with 10 men and little time remaining on the clock.

7

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool (Sep 2023)

11 yellows, 2 reds

Spurs’ 2-1 victory over Liverpool last season was one of the most controversial and dramatic games in recent years; it was memorable for numerous reasons. It quite literally had everything.

A straight red, three goals – including a 96th-minute own goal – 12 yellow cards and a goal that was incorrectly disallowed.

The referees’ body, PGMOL, officially apologised after the game for incorrectly ruling Luis Diaz’s first-half strike as offside.

Aside from the three goals and Joel Matip’s own goal, which gifted Spurs the victory, this Premier League thriller was also packed with cards.

Curtis Jones was handed a straight red, while Diogo Jota joined him in the dressing room after picking up two yellows inside the space of a minute in the second half.

6

Southampton 2-3 Wimbledon (Dec 1994)

12 yellows, 1 red

A five-goal Boxing Day thriller between Southampton and Wimbledon in the 1994/95 season was packed with plenty of festive cards.

Only two points separated the two sides going into the fixture, with both teams in mid-table. Despite this, the visiting Dons were just three points above the drop, with four clubs going down that season.

However, with the teams all square at the break, it was Wimbledon who stole all three points through a Dean Holdsworth penalty in the 72nd minute.

12 yellow cards were dished out during the 90 minutes, with Wimbledon’s Andy Thorn being sent off for his second yellow of the afternoon.

5

Everton 2-3 Liverpool (Apr 2001)

12 yellows, 1 red

Onto a fixture where you would expect to see an abundance of cards on display. It was one of the most memorable Merseyside derbies of all time in April 2001 when Gary McAllister’s incredible free-kick saw Liverpool win at Goodison Park for the first time since 1990.

Emile Heskey opened the scoring for the visitors, bagging his 21st goal of the season after just five minutes. Duncan Ferguson and Markus Babbel then exchanged goals before Robbie Fowler smacked the post with a penalty.

Everton thought they had secured a point when David Unsworth’s penalty made it 2-2, but McAllister’s stunner in the fourth minute of stoppage time snatched a win for the Reds.

To add to the drama, Igor Biscan saw red after 77 minutes with his second yellow of the game, and 10 other yellow cards were handed out from the 9th minute, right up until the 94th.

4

Newcastle 2-0 Everton (Feb 1995)

12 yellows, 2 reds

Everton received a total of nine yellow cards on their visit to St James’ Park in February 1995. Two of those led to a red for Earl Barrett, who was making his debut after a move from Aston Villa, and Barry Horne, who made the walk to the dressing room just a minute later.

Newcastle scored their goals through Ruel Fox and a Peter Beardsley penalty. The Toon would go on to finish sixth that year and Everton ended 15th, albeit with an FA Cup triumph to cap the season.

3

Leeds 0-0 Chelsea (Oct 1998)

13 yellows, 1 red

Goalless draws are usually dubbed as boring, but when you’ve got 13 yellow cards and a red in 90 minutes, it’s hard to class a match as dull.

Chelsea visited Leeds in October 1998 after a near-perfect start to the season had them fourth, level with Middlesbrough and behind Man Utd and Aston Villa. Leeds, on the other hand, couldn’t stop drawing, with six in their opening nine games.

It was one of those games that had everything except a goal, proving a microcosm of Leeds’ form in the opening stages of the 1998/99 season.

Frank Leboeuf was sent off in the 61st minute after receiving his second yellow card. Six other Chelsea players were booked and Leeds had five of their own, including Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who would sign for Chelsea two seasons later.

2

Tottenham 2-1 Sheff Utd (Sep 2023)

13 yellows, 1 red

Spurs and drama in the 2023/24 season seemed to go hand in hand.

Their 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on 16th September 2023 had the most cards of any Premier League game in its history.

Not only that, but from the 90th minute onwards, there were four yellow cards and two goals right up until the 10th minute of added time.

After Gustavo Hamer put the Blades ahead in the 73rd minute, stoppage-time goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski gave Spurs a dramatic win in a game where they had trailed to the Blades in as late as the 98th minute.

Oliver McBurnie got a red card in the 114th minute of play for a second bookable offence, adding insult to injury for Paul Heckingbottom’s men.

1

Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (Sep 2024)

14 yellows, 0 reds

It seems that this time of year is very popular with yellow cards, as for the second season running, we have seen a record-breaking match in terms of cautions issued at this particular juncture of the league campaign.

The scene this time around was the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, when an otherwise uneventful clash between the Cherries and Chelsea saw referee Anthony Taylor dish out yellow cards to 14 players – more than in any other Premier League match.

Six Bournemouth players and eight from the visitors were on the receiving end of Taylor’s wrath, including Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who conceded a penalty, which he would end up saving from Evanilson.

A yellow for Antoine Semenyo in the sixth minute of added time made history, albeit not for the best of reasons.